It is sometimes difficult to identify the house number of a residence, and this problem is even more difficult at night when the house numbers are hidden or obscured by darkness. This problem can make locating a specific address very difficult for guests, package delivery, and especially emergency services. Examples of emergency services that need to find a specific house number quickly would be medical, police or fire services. Minor delays in responding to an emergency situation can have severe negative consequences for the structure of the house, surrounding property, or occupants of the house. It is also important that arriving guests, delivery personnel and emergency personnel be able to locate a specific residence quickly and accurately.
Location of a specific address at night is sometimes accomplished by pointing a spotlight at a house in search of the house numbers. This method is time consuming, delaying the arrival of emergency services to the correct address, and also intrusive to the occupants of any nearby residence that does not require identification. Homes in rural or remote locations set back from the road or hidden by trees, vegetation or fences, for example, may not have numbers in a location visible from the street, making searching for a specific residence very difficult.
Additionally, house numbers are typically preset in only one location, facing only one direction, such that a viewer must be in only a certain location to read the house numbers.